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#6 Loggers Clearcut Lutes, 84-59
TACOMA, Wash. - Tying a school record for consecutive wins, the sixth-ranked Puget Sound Loggers made easy work of the Pacific Lutheran Lutes, 84-59, in a Northwest Conference men's basketball game on Tuesday evening at Memorial Fieldhouse in Tacoma, Wash.
The game looked close for the first 8:50 but the Loggers went on a 10-0 run in just 66 seconds to pull ahead by 11 with 10:05 remaining in the first half. From there, the teams continued to battle as the Loggers took a 42-29 lead into the halftime break. The Loggers' full-court press gave the Lutes fits in the first 20 minutes as Puget Sound collected 10 steals on 15 PLU turnovers.
In the second half, the Loggers stepped on the gas and the Lutes had no match. Puget Sound built the lead into the 20s on a jumper by senior Jason Foster (Spanaway, Wash./Henry Foss) with 11:09 to play. As more Puget Sound reserves saw minutes, the lead stayed in the 20's for the rest of the game, hitting a game-high 29 on a jumper by freshman David Aberg (Seattle, Wash./Roosevelt) with 1:57 to go that gave Puget Sound the 84-55 lead. A basket and a pair of free throws by the Lutes brought the game to the final of 84-59.
With the win, the Loggers moved their current win streak to 13 games, tying the mark set by the 1967-68 and 1975-76 Puget Sound teams. The 1975-76 team went on to win the NCAA Division II National Championship over Chattanooga, 83-74.
Puget Sound was led by 22 points from Antwan Williams (Portland, Ore./Madison), his second straight 20-point game. Foster added 16 with a team-high seven rebounds. Robert Krauel (Phoenix, Ariz./North Canyon) added 11 points in the winning effort. The Loggers out-rebounded the Lutes, 42-34 on the night.
Pacific Lutheran was led by 12 points from freshman Nick Stackhouse. Sophomore Tony Polis, a transfer from Puget Sound, scored 11 off the bench in his return to Memorial Fieldhouse. Puget Sound held senior guard Josh Dressler to just two points on the night on one-of-eight shooting.
The Loggers hit the hardwood again on Saturday night when they play host to George Fox. Tip-off with the Bruins is set for 8:00 p.m. at Memorial Fieldhouse in Tacoma, Wash.
